


Can You Hear My Heart?

by ArchangelUnmei



Series: Give Me A Sign [2]
Category: Final Fantasy XV
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, BAMF Cor Leonis, Dad!Cor, Deaf Character, Deaf Cor Leonis, Gen, Non-verbal Prompto, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, Plot going on in the background, Sign Language, Some War Some Daemons Some Problems, and this is mine, apparently writing dad!cor is a right of passage
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-11-04
Updated: 2020-06-21
Packaged: 2021-01-23 01:04:29
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 5,560
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21311569
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ArchangelUnmei/pseuds/ArchangelUnmei
Summary: The journey back to Insomnia takes two months, and Prompto never says a word.He soaks up signs like a sponge, though.(Cor always wonders which of the Astrals decided to bring them together - the non-verbal proto-MT and the one Crownsguard officer able to teach him a way to fully express himself.)
Relationships: Prompto Argentum & Cor Leonis
Series: Give Me A Sign [2]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1536373
Comments: 38
Kudos: 333





	1. Chapter 1

Prompto's earliest memories - well, his earliest memories that aren't flashes out of his nightmares - are of being cold, and Cor. Even in these earliest moments he remembers himself as 'Prompto', though he won't get his name for a few hours more. He's vaguely aware that he's crying, great gasping wails of discomfort and fear, but Cor just takes off his jacket and drapes it over Prompto's shoulders. It engulfs him like a blanket, and Prompto snuggles into the warmth instinctively. His cries quiet into sniffles, and for a few moments he and Cor regard each other solemnly, Prompto huddled on the cold floor and Cor kneeling in front of him. 

"Do you have a name?" Cor asks, and Prompto huddles a little further into the jacket. Cor's lips press together for a moment, and then he raises his hands. Prompto flinches, but Cor just makes an odd, deliberate gesture with one hand. "This means 'yes'. You can use your hands to communicate with me, you don't have to speak. Alright?" 

Prompto stares at him, long and distrustful, then extracts one hand from Cor's jacket to hesitantly mimic the motion Cor had shown him. 

Cor's face breaks into a tired but real grin, the first Prompto's ever seen. He decides he likes it. 

\-------- 

"This is me," Cor tells him much later, once he's carried Prompto out of the cold facility, through a howling snowstorm and into a cave some distance away. The cave is in the side of a mountain, sloping down sharply for a bit before leveling off, and deep inside the rock walls are warm. Prompto had spent most of the journey curled up in a ball in Cor's arms, wrapped up in a real blanket, Cor's spare socks and the jacket he refused to relinquish. Luckily Cor had a spare stashed in the armiger. 

"This is my name, Cor Leonis," Cor makes motions that Prompto will later learn are literally just the signs for 'lion' and 'heart' strung together. "I might not always hear you if you cry, especially at night. But you can shake me awake, and if you sign this I'll always pay attention." 

Prompto tilts his head in silent question. Cor smiles crookedly and tilts his head in return, showing Prompto the little black devices hooked over the backs of his ears. 

"My ears are broken," he explains simply, and Prompto's expression brightens, because he understands broken. But he wonders who could break a man like Cor. 

"Yes," he signs to show he understands, and Cor's smile widens. He raises his head to squint at the mouth of the cave again, even though he knows they're well clear of any Nif patrols, and then reaches up to unhook one of his hearing aids. Prompto gasps a little as the device comes free, and Cor holds it in the palm of his hand to show him. 

"These help me hear. Without them, I can't, unless the noise is very loud," he explains patiently, and Prompto frowns, concentrating hard to make sure he remembers. This seems very important. "I don't sleep with them in either... usually," he smiles ruefully, since he does while out on solo missions like this, with no one to share the watch with him, ear infections be damned. What are they going to do, make him go deafer? 

Quickly he shakes away the woolgathering and reaches up to slip the hearing aid back in, breathing a slight sigh of relief as his hearing on that side sharpens again. "So if you see them sitting somewhere, please be very careful with them." 

He's normally not nearly so forthcoming with his disability. In fact, most people in Insomnia probably have no clue that the Marshal of the Crownsguard is deaf. He's very good at reading lips and picking up context clues, and the hearing aids he has now are very good at filtering out ambient noise and layers of sound. And if he doesn't hear someone and ends up 'ignoring' them, they probably just chalk it up to his stoic personality. 

But this is different, this is a _child_, and one who's going to be with Cor for at least the journey back to Insomnia. In a case like that, better to disclose it now than let it cause problems later. 

"Cor," Prompto signs at him, sweeping through the motions like he was born for it. But then he pauses, frowning since he doesn't know any more signs to convey what he might want to say. Cor frowns too, reaching out to almost absently pull the boy onto his lap. Prompto makes a low pleased sound, almost a coo, and snuggles up to him readily. That does give Cor some relief; so far besides the silence, the kid just seems... normal. It would be easier if he spoke, but Cor isn't going to push him, unsure of the sorts of things he may have endured or if he's even _able_ to speak. He seems to understand Cor readily, and that's enough. 

"I don't know what to call you..." he sighs. Prompto stares up at him a moment, then tentatively holds out his arm, the barcode and number inked below it. Cor wrinkles his nose and shakes his head, gently covering the tattoo with his much larger hand and tucking his arm back into the blanket. "No, I'm not calling you by a number. But I don't want to just... name you. You should be able to choose your own." 

Prompto shrugs, a motion apparently ingrained enough in the human psyche that it doesn't need to be taught. For awhile they fall into comfortable silence, watching the flickering light of the campfire Cor had built in the middle of their little cavern. Getting bored but unwilling to leave the comfortable safety of Cor's lap, Prompto wiggles his arms free of the blankets and holds them up, watching the shadows they cast on the cave wall. He grins, delighted at the way he can move his hands and change the shapes. 

Cor leans back tiredly, glad Prompto seems able to entertain himself at least for the moment. He's mildly amused by letting his eyes unfocus and pretending Prompto is signing nonsense gibberish, and then he blinks. Completely by accident, Prompto had just signed something properly. "Can you do that again?" 

Prompto gives him a questioning look, but repeats the sign, and Cor hums. "That's the sign for 'fast', or 'quick'. We could use that for your name, if you want." 

Prompto's eyes light up and he nods, grinning as he makes the sign again. Cor returns the smile and the sign, and Prompto beams. 

"We just have to decide how you want it spoken, since not everyone knows how to sign like us," Cor says, chuckling at Prompto's surprised look. "You'll see once we get back to the city, we're definitely in the minority. It's like a secret code. As for your name though... Fast, quick, dart, speed..." he pauses, waiting to see if any associated words catch the child's fancy. "Instantly, promptly-" Blue eyes brighten again, and Cor raises an eyebrow. "Prompt? In traditional Old Lucian that would be Prompto." 

Prompto nods vigorously, name chosen, and Cor chuckles and holds him close again. 

\--------- 

The trip back to Insomnia takes two months, and Prompto doesn't say a word. 

He soaks up signs like a sponge, though, helped by the fact that Cor falls into the habit of simultaneously signing as he speaks, so long as his hands aren't otherwise occupied. It's what he did while teaching Noctis to sign, and it seems to work just as well for Prompto. 

So well that when they stop into Hammerhead and Cor waves at Cid, Prompto breaks into a flurry of excited signing. 

"Oh hell," Cid squints, and then glares at Cor for snickering. "My signing is unbelievably rusty, Baby Crownsguard." 

Cor rolls his eyes, and Prompto tilts his head in that way that means he's questioning what was just said. Cid seems to catch on to the silent question. 

"Baby Crownsguard," he repeats with a smirk, simultaneously making the 'lion heart' sign for Cor's name and then jerking his thumb at Cor for emphasis. "Ha, I remember that much!" Prompto giggles, and Cid gives him a slightly wary look. "...Do I want to know?" 

"Probably not," Cor sighs, putting a hand on Prompto's head and ruffling the boy's hair lightly, making him giggle again and bat at Cor's hands. "Prom, this is Cid, an old friend of mine." He makes sure Prompto is looking up at him, then finger-spells C-I-D. Prompto's eyebrows shoot up. 

"Why doesn't he have a name?" Prompto asks, and Cor snorts in laughter. Cid's clueless look only makes it better, his signing rusty enough that he doesn't catch what Prompto is asking. 

"I never came up with a good one for him," Cor admits. "And his name's so short it's easy to just use finger-spelling. If you can come up with a name sign for him I'd be happy to start using it." 

Prompto nods, getting a concentrated look on his face. Cor chuckles again and turns his attention back to Cid. "And this is Prompto. I... liberated him from a Gralean experimental facility." The horror on Cid's face says he gets the idea, so Cor is relieved not to have to say more. 

"Kid can't be more than six or seven," Cid says, clearly a little shaken as he frowns, lips pressing together in an old familiar expression of disquiet. It's enough to make Cor smile, just a little. 

"He seems alright so far, though we won't really know until I can get him back to the city and give him a proper medical look-over." 

Both of them turn to look to the east, where the faint shimmer of heat haze on the horizon shows Insomnia's position, not so far away now. 

"...You'd best get going then," Cid says after a moment, and then eyeballs Cor. "Unless there's some other reason you stopped in to see me besides just being friendly." 

Cor makes a face, somewhere between a smile and a grimace. "You know me too well, Cid. We've mostly been hitching rides with hunters to get this far, I was hoping you knew of someone headed into the city within the next day or two, or you'd be willing to give us a ride as far as the bridge yourself." 

Cid crosses his arms, looking unimpressed. "And?" 

"...And we got caught in a sudden rain storm about a week ago, and since then one of my ears keeps deciding to shut off with no warning. I have to really fiddle with it to get it to turn on again." Cor admits sheepishly, though there hadn't really been any help for it. The priority at the time had been finding shelter and getting both himself and Prompto dry, making sure they were safe before he could afford to take out his hearing aids and try to dry them out. 

"Hells," Cid swears again, scowling, and holds out his hand in a way that holds no room for argument. 

Sheepishly still, Cor reaches up to unhook the offending device and drop it into Cid's palm. His hearing on that side immediately goes dead, eerie when he can still hear from the other side and messing with his sense of where sounds are actually coming from. But he's always known this is his biggest weakness, and has deliberately trained with only one ear in, or none at all. He can compensate, he just doesn't like to. He makes a face as Cid turns away, heading for his garage. 

Prompto had looked startled when Cor took out his hearing aid, since until now in Prompto's memory he's only done it a few times. Immediately the boy moves around Cor to stand on his deaf side, pressing himself close like he can guard Cor from any danger coming in from that side. It brings a smile to Cor's face, and he wraps an arm around Prompto's shoulders, guiding him to follow Cid inside. 

"It's okay," he reassures Prompto, since he looked a little worried as Cid muttered and poked at Cor's hearing aid. "Cid can fix it." 

"You'd better hope Cid has the spare parts," Cid grumbles, although they both know he does, tucked away in a drawer at the back of his garage. He squints down at the half-disassembled hearing aid, aiming a stronger light at it. "You, boy, c'mere. Your eyes are better than mine and your fingers are smaller." 

Prompto looks startled and points at himself in silent question. Cor nudges him gently, finding a chair and dragging it to put his back against a wall, his good ear toward the door so Prompto will be reassured he's safe. "Go on." 

Prompto creeps over to peer around Cid at the small circuits and bits of wire laid out on the table, eyes wide and curious. The look Cid gives the top of his head is kind, and Cor hides a smile and pretends he hadn't seen it. 

"Here," Cid leans down to begin teaching Prompto a bit about how the tiny device works. "If you're gonna be living with Leonis, best you learn how to help fix his ears." 

Cor makes a soft noise of protest, because that hadn't been decided at all. He's just taking Prompto back to Insomnia because he's the one who happened to rescue him. 

But between Prompto's wide-eyed look and Cid's flat one, he realizes it might have already been decided for him.


	2. Chapter 2

Cor is probably the more nervous of the two of them as they sit waiting.

Alright, definitely the more nervous. Prompto isn't concerned at all, although Cor knows that a lot of that is Prompto being too young to really understand the gravity of the situation. Cor's tried asking him about what he remembers before Cor rescued him from that glass pod in the Gralean laboratory, but it's the one thing that makes Prompto's eyes go huge and liquid, the one thing he refuses to answer. 

So for the moment, Cor chooses to believe that the entirety of Prompto's memory is encased in the last two months, the slow journey across Lucis clinging to Cor's back like a burr. It's been an endless stream of new sights and experiences for the boy, so arriving in the city doesn't phase him. Indeed, it seems to fascinate him, and he's standing by the window staring out at the view of Insomnia and oblivious to how privileged this particular panorama is. 

His phone buzzes, and Cor looks down at it. He's kept in contact with Regis and Clarus all through the long journey home, and they're both well aware of Prompto's existence. Cor's even sent a couple photos, reported back all he could, just in case something happened before they reached Insomnia. 

But they're here now, they're _home_, and of course they'd reached the Citadel while the King and his council are all completely tied up in a meeting. 

Which is what led to Cor sitting behind Regis' desk in the King's private study, taking the chance to sink into the sinfully plush leather of his very expensive chair and rest. The long journey is starting to catch up with him. The idea is slowly sinking in that he isn't going to be giving Prompto up. He couldn't. Not when it meant turning Prompto over to strangers, strangers who more than likely couldn't sign, wouldn't understand, wouldn't be patient enough or caring enough. 

Hells, he has a kid now. 

_'Incoming, 3 minutes,'_ the text message from Clarus reads. _'Need me to wait outside to not overwhelm the kid?'_

Cor can't help a tired grin, knowing he's one of five people - six technically, if they counted Noctis - trusted to be alone with the King without his Shield present. It probably helps that he's known them since he was small enough to pick up and throw over Clarus' shoulder. 

_'No, it's fine,'_ he answers, glancing over to make sure Prompto is still where he left him, nose pressed against the window. _'He seems to love meeting new people. He and Cid got along great.'_

_'Terrifying.'_

Cor debates getting out of Regis' chair, then decides he's not motivated enough. "Prom," he calls out, and the boy looks over at him, expression bright and curious. Cor beckons to him, and Prompto doesn't hesitate to climb up onto his lap and settle like that's where he belongs. Cor smiles, his heart warming as he smooths a hand down over Prompto's messy hair. Now that they're back in the city they'll have to see about a haircut, but that's way, _way_ down on Cor's mental list of priorities right now. 

Number one is figuring out how to keep him. Because it's all well and good if Prompto is attached to him, and if Cor has decided to keep him, but the reality is he might not be allowed. There's still so much that's unknown about Prompto and his origins, it might be deemed unacceptable for him to stay with Cor. Though honestly, if Prompto's some sort of threat, Cor can't think of a _better_ place for him to be than under his watchful eye, though the council may not agree. Cor's already got a bit of a reputation for dragging home dangerous strays from supposedly solo missions. 

"My friends are almost here," Cor soothes his hand over Prompto's hair again, and Prompto nods. He looks both excited and nervous, and Cor can relate. He'd told Prompto a little, about how Regis is the leader of everyone in this country and very important, but given Prompto's severe lack of context he's not sure how much he'd really understood. It only mattered to him that they are friends of Cor's. 

The door opens then, and Regis strides in, Clarus just behind him. They're coming straight from a council meeting and dressed in all their finery and heavy robes, though as soon as the door is closed behind them Clarus is already reaching up to unfasten the clasps at his throat and shoulders to let the heavier portions fall away. He gives a sigh of relief, stretching his shoulders, and rolls his eyes when he catches Cor smirking at him. 

Regis, however, has eyes only for the boy in Cor's lap. He moves around his desk, and Cor scoots the chair back so that when Regis lowers himself onto his knees, he and Prompto are facing each other at nearly the same height. Prompto seems to have been caught in a burst of shyness, pressing back into Cor's chest even as he watches Regis in awed fascination. 

Regis looks quietly thoughtful, and after a handful of heartbeats he speaks, though he also raises his hands to sign along. It's the right decision, because Prompto's shyness seems to evaporate like daemons in the sunlight, and he smiles brightly. 

"Hello," Regis says, returning the smile. "My name is Regis." He uses the signs for 'prince' and 'sword', the name-sign Cor had given to him years ago and not bothered to change when he was crowned. It's sentimental, since he'd been a prince when they first met, and only a handful of people knew the King was fluent in sign language anyway. 

"This is Clarus," he continues, gesturing at Clarus and then using the signs for 'prince' and 'shield'. "I think Cor has told you about us. What's your name?" 

"Prompto," Prompto signs, and then his eyes go wide and he looks up at Cor anxiously, since he has no way to convey how that should be spoken. Cor strokes his hair again, since 'teach Prompto to read and write' is already pretty high on the mental checklist. 

"Prompto," he murmurs, and Prompto gives a sigh of relief and signs a quick thanks at Cor before turning his attention back to the King. 

Regis looks fascinated by the exchange, and he offers Prompto a warm smile. "I'm very glad to meet you, Prompto. Cor says that he's been taking care of you for awhile while you traveled...?" He lets the question trail off, hoping to spark a reaction from Prompto. 

What he gets is another beaming smile and a vigorous nod. "Cor is the best," Prompto signs. "He shows me things and chases away daemons and Coeurl and that one Bandersnatch, and he doesn't mind that I don't talk." He frowns momentarily, brow furrowing before it clears. Already on the trip home they've run into some people who persisted in trying to force Prompto to talk, ignoring the fact that it was clearly distressing Prompto and that Cor had a handle on things. More than once it had ended up with Cor shouting and Prompto in tears, and Cor can only imagine things in the city will be worse. 

"I don't mind that you don't talk either," Regis assures him, and that clears the last of the gloom from Prompto's face. "Would you like to keep staying with Cor now that you're here?" 

Prompto nods vigorously again, clutching at the fabric of Cor's jacket. He looks a little frightened suddenly, like it hadn't really occurred to him that he might _not_ stay with Cor. Cor curls his arms around him, protective and comforting all at once, and breaks into the conversation for the first time. 

"He's staying with me," he tells Regis flatly, and the King snorts, his eyes sparkling. He beckons to Clarus, and the Shield passes him a manila envelope bulging with what Cor can only assume is a whole lot of paperwork. His eyes narrow slightly. "Did you already have custody papers drawn up?" He can't decide whether he's annoyed that his friends know him so well, or in awe. 

"Aulea did," Clarus definitely looks amused, finally moving over to settle into his usual chair by the window. "And immigration and naturalization papers, since we didn't think you'd exactly stopped to find out if Prompto has a birth certificate." 

"I did not," Cor shakes his head, thinking of the barcode inked on the boy's wrist, the other pods in that lab with other, less human things contained in them. He'll need to debrief all of that and try to figure out what the Nifs think they're up to, but not with Prompto here. "I hadn't even thought of it." 

"Aulea thinks of everything," Regis says matter-of-factly, opening the flap on the envelope as he gets to his feet. He gives Cor and Prompto an amused look. "If you'd like to give me my chair back, we can get started."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I've realized I need to actually go back and write back story. :,D Please stand by, prequel(s) incoming.


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I swear I didn't mean for this to take so long, 2020 has been... yeah.
> 
> I promise this story is not abandoned by any means, I have many plans. :3c

Four hours later, once the majority of the paperwork is done, Cor sits back and stretches. He's careful not to dislodge Prompto; the boy had curled up on his lap once the excitement of meeting new people had worn off, and promptly fallen asleep. He wiggles a little and makes a kind of a cooing sound, face pressed against Cor's shoulder and one small hand holding onto the fabric of his shirt. But he doesn't wake, and Cor relaxes again, bringing one arm down to wrap around Prompto's back and help support him.

Regis looks up from his own pile of paperwork and smiles. Cor flushes a little and shifts a bit, though still not enough to disturb Prompto. "What're you smiling at?" he signs with a slight scowl, and Regis chuckles and puts down his pen. 

"Noctis always falls asleep on you too," the King signs back, his grin widening when Cor's embarrassed flush deepens. "You must be comfortable." 

Before Cor can come up with a proper response, the door opens and Clarus slips in, carrying a tray. He nudges the door closed with his foot and raises an eyebrow, waiting until Regis clears enough space on the desk that he can set the tray down. 

Cor reaches out and makes a grabbing motion, unable to lean forward very much with Prompto curled up on his lap. Clarus huffs a soft laugh, pouring him a mug of coffee and adding a splash of cream before handing it to him. 

"You're my favorite," Cor hums, taking a grateful sip and ignoring the dramatically sad, betrayed look Regis gives him. 

"I'm your boss," Clarus corrects with a soft snort, handing Regis his coffee and then settling back into his chair with his own. "I have to be your favorite. How's the paperwork?" 

"Done, I think," Cor makes a bit of a face. "Or as done as it can be with how little we still know. There's going to have to be some legal fudging involved, considering I don't know anything about his parents or where he actually came from." 

Regis sighs but waves a hand. "What good is being King if not for endorsing a little legal fudging. He's an orphan and a foundling, there's procedures for unknown parentage. I think we'd all rather keep Prompto in a place where we'll be able to keep an eye on him." 

"Just in case," Cor agrees, frowning softly. He looks down at Prompto, gently stroking a hand down the boy's back. When he looks up again, Regis and Clarus are both looking at him expectantly. "...I guess it's time I gave my report?" 

"Informally," Clarus says, his brows lowering in a pensive look. "I'm not sure how much of this we'll want on the official record, considering you were on an unsanctioned mission to begin with. You found him in a _lab_?" 

Cor nods, taking another sip of his coffee as he gathers his thoughts. He's been trying to put the pieces together for the better part of two months now, and still isn't sure what he's looking at. "You sent me to investigate that hunch Ardyn had," he begins. They know that, of course, but he's still trying to put his thoughts in order. "And there's definitely something... strange going on with the daemons in the area. There aren't any." 

That gets both Regis and Clarus to sit up straighter, Clarus leaning forward in his chair slightly. "What? That's unheard of outside of a well-lit city." Even Insomnia and Altissia had problems sometimes, daemons creeping into abandoned warehouses and deep sewers and basements. 

Cor shakes his head. "I don't know, I'll need to talk to Ardyn about it. I had a few skirmishes with goblins along the border, and one set of ice bombs a little beyond it, but that was all. The closer I got to where I found the lab, the fewer daemons there were." He pauses, letting that sink in for a moment. "But there were signs of them. There was fresh snow, and I came across an area that looked like there'd been a fight, with Iron Giant tracks alongside the human." 

"So the Nifs are running their own daemon patrols?" Regis raises an eyebrow, but Cor's already shaking his head. 

"This was past the border, but still a good three days' foot travel from Gralea itself. There weren't any other settlements in the area, I don't know why they'd be running patrols so far out. I followed the tracks, and that's where I found the lab complex. It's built into the bottom of a valley, I took as many pictures as I could. It looked military, though when I went in I didn't find any evidence of actual military presence." 

"Privately funded?" Clarus guesses, and Cor shrugs before nodding. 

"As close as I can tell. They were running security patrols I had to avoid, but they looked relaxed and undisciplined, I'd say private hired security for sure, and they weren't expecting any kind of trouble. My plan was to try and grab files, see if I could figure out what they were doing, but all of that went out the window when I found Prompto." 

Cor glances down automatically, reassuring himself that the boy was still securely curled up on his lap despite the feeling weight of him. "Unfortunately I didn't get any pictures of how I found him. I was too... focused on getting him out." From the sympathetic looks, he guesses his friends can read between the lines, guess how distraught he was at finding a _child_ in a place where one had no business being. He'd nearly blown his cover in his haste to bolt across the room. He takes a deep breath, trying to focus on the fact that Prompto is here and safe; Regis and Clarus need to hear the details. 

"I found him in a glass container, big enough that he still had room to grow. He was floating in some sort of liquid, with a mask over his nose and mouth, I assume to provide air. There was a computerized panel beside it, and I was able to access it without any sort of locks." 

Clarus' brows lower. "Arrogant," he mutters, but nods for Cor to continue. He's set his coffee aside and pulled out a pen, scratching down a few notes as Cor talks. 

Prompto stirs a little at the sound of their voices, and Cor gently soothes him again. He would switch to sign, but with Prompto curled up against his chest the movement is just as likely to disturb him, and Cor isn't sure his friends know some of the more obscure signs he'd need to use. 

"I was able to pick my way through the menus without much difficulty. Again, I was more focused on getting him out than I was with documenting what was there, but the panel and the liquid seemed to be there to stabilize and monitor Prompto's genetics. Unfortunately, when I found the release mechanism, the liquid drained away before the tube opened, so I wasn't able to get a sample." 

Both Regis and Clarus are frowning deeply now, and Cor doesn't blame them. He hardly notices he's still running fingers through Prompto's hair, comforting himself that the boy is safe. Neither of them say anything though, and Cor takes a deep breath. They're waiting on the other shoe to drop, he realizes. 

"Once I had Prompto out and removed the mask, he started breathing on his own immediately and his pulse was stable, if a bit rapid. The liquid on his skin dried almost instantly, leaving no residue behind, but it smelled like chemicals and alcohol... and daemon oil." Regis sits up straighter, gripping the arms of his chair, and Cor nods grimly. "There were other tubes in that room. I didn't get time to look at any of them too closely, but Prompto was the only one that looked human. All the others were... twisted. Limbs too long, or too many of them, bulging eyes, skin that was bubbled up in boils and warts and sinews..." Cor shudders a bit, swallowing back bile at the memories of those... creatures. His friends are both staring at him in horror, but neither of them seem to know what to say either. With effort, Cor makes himself move on. 

"He woke up after only a minute or two, and I was able to keep him quiet and get him past the patrols to get out. Releasing him didn't seem to set off any sort of alarms. After that, it was just a matter of bringing him back to Lucis." 

"They're experimenting with daemons..." Regis whispers, horrified, but Cor shakes his head. 

"I didn't see any evidence the Niff government was involved," he says. The last thing they need is to jump to conclusions and restart the war that ended only a generation ago. "This place was in the middle of no where, and all the lazy security screamed that it was privately arranged. It doesn't mean the government doesn't know it's there, of course, but I didn't get the chance to dig into their files and find evidence one way or the other." 

He looks down at Prompto, still sleeping peacefully in his arms. "...I've noticed nothing unusual about Prompto," he says, forcing himself to try and be clinical and detached. How could he be, though, when he'd literally just signed his adoption papers? Prompto is his _son_ now. But then, he wouldn't have been so adamant about keeping Prompto with him if he'd had any doubts about how normal he is. "He sunburns, but no worse than any other Niff I've met, and mostly he freckles. He needs glasses, but doesn't seem especially light-sensitive. He's just as energetic as any other kid his age. The only unusual thing I've noted is that he's either unwilling or unable to talk, I'm not sure which." 

"He does communicate, though, since you're teaching him LSL," Clarus points out unnecessarily, and Cor nods. 

"Perhaps they didn't get too far into whatever plan they had for him," Regis says, but he still sounds worried, gaze lingering on Prompto. 

"There's one way to tell," Cor says, and some of the intense worry fades from Regis' brow as he smiles. 

"True," the King sits back in his chair a little, some of the tension leaving his shoulders. "Tell us some more about how you brought Prompto home, and when he wakes up from his nap we'll take him to see Ardyn." 

Cor nods, soothing a hand down Prompto's back again. If anyone could tell them whether any daemon influence is hiding somewhere inside the child, it's Ardyn Lucis Caelum.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And this is where the previous story [Quiet](https://archiveofourown.org/works/21551704) comes in. :D Sorry this chapter is a bit shorter and exposition heavy, I need to get things set up for going forward.


End file.
